U.S. patent application number 10/181921 was filed with the patent office on 2003-01-02 for motor vehicle front seat.
Invention is credited to Michel, Serge.
Application Number | 20030001404 10/181921 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 8856496 |
Filed Date | 2003-01-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030001404 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Michel, Serge |
January 2, 2003 |
Motor vehicle front seat
Abstract
The invention concerns a seat, in particular for a motor
vehicle, comprising a seat back, a cushion, a pivoting handle
mounted on one of the lateral sides of the seat back and adapted to
cause the seat back to tilt onto the cushion from a raised
position, a rotary plate fixed under the cushion, and a pivoting
lever affixed to the rotary plate and adapted to cause the cushion
to rotate on itself with the seat back in the raised position.
According to the invention, the seat comprises means for pivoting
the pivoting lever immediately after the handle has pivoted so as
to cause the cushion to rotate about the rotation axis of the
rotary plate immediately after the back has been tilted on the
cushion.
Inventors: |
Michel, Serge; (Freneuse,
FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ARMSTRONG,WESTERMAN & HATTORI, LLP
1725 K STREET, NW.
SUITE 1000
WASHINGTON
DC
20006
US
|
Family ID: |
8856496 |
Appl. No.: |
10/181921 |
Filed: |
July 26, 2002 |
PCT Filed: |
October 31, 2001 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR01/03386 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
296/65.06 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N 2/20 20130101; B60N
2/146 20130101; B60N 2/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
296/65.06 |
International
Class: |
B60N 002/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 15, 2000 |
FR |
0014730 |
Claims
1. Seat (1), in particular for a motor vehicle, comprising a seat
back (2), a cushion (3), a pivoting handle (21) mounted on one of
the lateral sides (22) of the seat back and adapted to cause the
seat back to tilt onto the cushion from a raised position, a rotary
plate (4) fixed under the cushion, and a pivoting lever (44) fixed
to the rotary plate and adapted to cause the cushion to rotate
around the axis of rotation of the rotary plate (P) with the seat
back in the raised position, characterized in that it comprises
means (5, 52, 55) for causing the pivoting lever to rotate
immediately after the pivoting of the handle so as to obtain a
rotation of the cushion around the axis of rotation of the rotary
plate immediately after the seat back has been tilted onto the
cushion.
2. Seat according to claim 1, characterized in that the means are
comprised of a cable (5) having one of its ends (51) affixed to the
rear part of the seat back and the other end (54) affixed to the
pivoting lever.
3. Seat according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cable
is housed in a sheath (53).
4. Seat according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in
that the seat comprises tubes (41, 42) affixed to the lower part of
the rotary plate, which extend transversely across it, the ends of
these tubes being adapted to be affixed to a floor such as a floor
of an automobile.
5. Seat according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in
that the axis of rotation of the rotary plate (P) is offset
relative to the axis (C) of the cushion.
6. Automobile equipped with at least one seat according to one of
the preceding claims, preferably mounted as a front seat.
Description
[0001] The present invention concerns a seat comprising a seat
back, a cushion, a pivoting handle mounted on one of the lateral
sides of the seat back and adapted to cause the seat back to tilt
onto the cushion from a raised position, a rotary plate fixed under
the cushion, and a pivoting lever affixed to the rotary plate and
adapted to cause the cushion to rotate on itself with the seat back
in the raised position.
[0002] It relates more specifically to a seat of this type mounted
as a motor vehicle front seat.
[0003] Usually, the driver or passenger of an automobile
experiences more problems in getting into the passenger compartment
if it has a limited volume and/or accessibility. Thus, it is not
easy for a passenger to reach the rear seats of a "small" vehicle
that only has two hinged or sliding doors at the front of the
vehicle, and this in spite of the fact that the seat back can be
tilted onto the base of the front seat involved.
[0004] In some types of vehicles equipped with front seats that
rotate on themselves, however, it is possible to improve the
accessibility to the rear seats, but at the expense of complicated
operations. Indeed, the passenger must turn the handle mounted on
the outer lateral side of the seat back with one hand in order to
tilt the seat back onto the cushion, and, while bending down, he
must simultaneously turn the lever located on the cushion with his
other hand in order to rotate the cushion on itself while orienting
it towards the outside of the vehicle.
[0005] The purpose of the invention is thus to propose a seat of
the type mentioned above which allows the passenger to have a large
accessibility to the rear seats of an automobile while being easy
to manipulate.
[0006] To this effect, an object of the invention is a seat, in
particular for an automobile, comprising a seat back, a cushion, a
pivoting handle mounted one of the lateral sides of the seat back
and adapted to cause the seat back to tilt onto the cushion from a
raised position, a rotary plate fixed under the cushion, and a
pivoting lever fixed to the rotary plate and adapted to cause the
cushion to rotate around the axis of rotation of the rotary plate
with the seat back in the raised position, characterized in that it
comprises means for causing the pivoting lever to rotate
immediately after the pivoting of the handle so as to obtain a
rotation of the cushion around the axis of rotation of the rotary
plate immediately the seat back has been tilted onto the
cushion.
[0007] The seat can also comprise one or more of the following
characteristics taken alone or in combination:
[0008] the means are comprised of a cable having one of its ends
affixed to the rear part of the seat back and the other end affixed
to the pivoting lever;
[0009] the cable is housed in a sheath;
[0010] the seat consists of tubes affixed to the lower part of the
rotary plate, which extend across it, the ends of these tubes being
adapted to be affixed to a floor such as a floor of an
automobile;
[0011] the axis of rotation of the rotary plate is offset relative
to the axis of the cushion.
[0012] The invention also concerns a motor vehicle equipped with at
least one seat described above, preferably mounted as a front
seat.
[0013] Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will
be best understood in reading the detailed description of a
particular embodiment made in reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 which
show:
[0014] FIG. 1: a schematic side view of a front seat of an
automobile according to the invention;
[0015] FIGS. 2a and 2b: two detailed side views of a part of the
seat back according to the invention in a raised position and in an
intermediate position of the tilting of the seat back towards the
cushion, respectively;
[0016] FIG. 3: a detailed top view of the rotary plate according to
the invention;
[0017] FIG. 4: a top view of the seat according to the invention,
the seat back being in an intermediate position tilted on the
cushion, the latter having been turned on itself by an angle of
45.degree. relative to the fixed driving position.
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a front seat of an automobile wherein access to
the rear seats is very limited while the seat back 2 is in a raised
position, i.e., approximately vertical to the cushion 3, and when
the cushion is in a driving position, i.e., fixed and approximately
parallel to the lateral side of the vehicle body, which is not
shown.
[0019] This front seat 1 comprises, in a manner that is itself
known, a handle 21 pivotally mounted on the lateral side 22 of the
seat back 2 closest to the front door, which is not shown, when the
cushion is in the driving position.
[0020] It also comprises a rotary plate 4 affixed below the cushion
3 and having an axis of rotation (P) that is offset from the axis
(C) by a distance d that is sufficiently large to increase the
interior living space when the seat back 2 faces the rear seats of
the vehicle and that is sufficiently small so that the seat back in
the raised position does not come into contact with other elements
of the vehicle when the cushion turns, such as the corresponding
lateral support of the car body or the dashboard.
[0021] As to the rotary plate 4, it comprises, in its lower part,
two tubes 41, 42 that are affixed by means of screws, which are not
shown, and that extend transversely across the plate along two of
its sides. The ends 410, 420 of these tubes are affixed to two side
rails 43, also by means of screws, which are not shown. The side
rails 43 are themselves affixed directly to the floor of an
automobile, also by means of screws.
[0022] A pivoting lever 44 is fitted tightly in a flexible, curved
tab 45 arranged in front of the rotary plate 4. The rotation of
this lever 44 towards the cushion causes, in a manner itself known,
a rotation of the cushion 3 around the axis of rotation of the
rotary plate (P) with the seat back 2 in the raised position.
[0023] Finally, the seat 1 according to the invention comprises a
cable 5 having one of its ends 51 fixed in a clamp 52. This
attachment of the end 51 of the cable 5 in the clamp 52 can be done
by any means available to the person of the art. This can include,
for example, a screw going through the clamp that presses the end
51 of the cable 5 against the inside of the recess made in the
clamp 52 in which the cable is housed. The clamp 52 is itself
affixed to the rear part of the seat back 2 by welding. The cable 5
is arranged in a protective sheath 53 that prevents damage to the
cover of the seat 1 and that has a stop 531 against the rear of the
seat back 2. The other end 54 is itself fixed into an attachment
clamp 55 welded to the pivoting lever 44 at the end 441 opposite
the one 442 on which the operating knob of the lever 443 is placed.
The entire central part of the cable 5 is itself arranged along the
seat 1 below the cushion 3 and along the upper part of the rotary
plate 4, the protective sheath 53 being affixed to the rotary plate
4 by means of attachments, which are themselves known, and which
are not shown.
[0024] The length of the cable 5 is judiciously selected so as not
to disturb the complete rotation of the cushion 3 around the axis
of rotation of the rotary plate 4, i.e., in the order of
180.degree.. This rotation corresponds to an orientation of the
front seat such that the seat back 2 faces the rear seats of the
vehicle, with the rear of the seat back facing the dashboard of the
vehicle.
[0025] Operation of the front seat 1 according to the invention
will now be explained.
[0026] When a passenger intends to access the rear seats of the
vehicle, he operates the handle 21 by causing it to turn around its
axis so as to cause the seat back 2 to tilt onto the cushion 3 of
the unoccupied front seat 1 and to go from its raised position
(FIG. 2a) to an inclined position (FIG. 2b). This tilting of the
seat back 2 onto the cushion 3 causes tension in the cable 5
according to the arrow f at its end 51 that is integral with the
seat back 2. This tension of the cable 5 is sufficient to cause the
pivoting of the lever 44 immediately afterwards. The rotation of
the cushion around the axis of rotation of the rotary plate 4 is
thus obtained immediately after the tilting of the seat back 2 onto
the cushion 3.
[0027] The passenger can thus, without difficulty, maneuver the
seat 1 with the seat back 2 tilted down, and easily orient it
towards the outside, for example, at an angle of rotation .theta.
between 45 and 135.degree. (the angle of rotation here is the angle
measured from the initial position of the seat 1, i.e., fixed with
the rear of the seat back facing the rear seats) as shown in FIG.
3.
[0028] Accessibility to the rear seats is thus greatly improved
since the passenger can easily orient the front seat 1 when he gets
into the vehicle with the seat back 2 tilted down, without having
to manipulate other elements.
[0029] The embodiment mode which has just been described is very
advantageous to the extent that it makes it possible to obtain the
desired kinematics while adding a minimum number of parts that do
not change the structure of the seat. The additional cost caused by
the installation of the cable according to the invention is thus
very low.
[0030] Of course, different embodiments of a seat of this type,
which makes it possible to provide a large accessibility to the
rear seats of a vehicle while remaining very easy to manipulate,
can be imagined without exceeding the scope of the invention.
[0031] Thus, it is possible to imagine a mechanism that allows the
rotary plate to slide on rails arranged longitudinally to the
vehicle immediately after the seat back has been tilted onto the
seat cushion.
* * * * *